CHAPTER 432: CHAPTER 158: THIS IS NOT THE DARK LAND! (PART 3)

This setting doesn’t match what the guys said.

Could this be the task to receive the "Guiding Water Ball"?

The confusion grew more intense, but he still chose to continue the task, wanting to see what would happen after completing it.

Half an hour later, the task was complete.

The skill plate appeared on the task panel, resembling a lush tree, with each node having a skill ring, developing upward from the foundational abilities at the root.

Two initial skills were available to choose from.

They were the active skill Dark Grasp and the passive skill Dark Amplification.

Upon seeing the skill options, Tong Xin was completely bewildered.

"Something’s not right, definitely not right!"

He found that the game’s settings were completely different from what the guys described.

For other problems, he could make up reasons, but skills are the core of a game.

The guys often talked about it in group chats, discussing ability combination plans, so there’s no chance they were deceiving him.

The guys referred to the growth system in Dark Land as a Star Vein Combination system.

The characteristic was creating powerful professions by combining different Life Souls, with no fixed gameplay, allowing each player to play uniquely with their understanding.

The strength of a single Life Soul was not important according to the guys’ descriptions.

Some Life Souls that seemed low in strength could create remarkable effects when combined with others.

It’s this high degree of freedom in ability combinations that let various factions flourish in the game. There’s only the weakest Life Soul of the version, but no eternally weak Life Soul.

Each time a New Life Soul was introduced, it reshuffled the strength of all factions.

But the skill tree growth model in front completely differed.

Starting from the initial skills, skill paths branched out, with each path clearly defining a faction, with no freedom to mix and match.

To change factions, one could only reset points.

It felt to him like... the Dark Land he played wasn’t the same game the guys talked about.

"No way."

With doubts, Tong Xin immediately chose to log out.

He then pulled out his phone and dialed Tie Chui’s number, opting for the emergency contact mode.

In today’s era, virtual games have become an indispensable part of life, so contact modes are divided into normal contact and emergency contact.

Many people spend most of their time in the game, rarely logging out.

Emergency contact is used in sudden situations, allowing players in the game pod to be directly prompted.

The beeping lasted for a long time before the call connected, and Tie Chui’s puzzled voice came through:

"Park Director, what’s going on, did you manage to snag a game pass?"

"I got it, but the game I’m playing feels off."

"Hahaha, congratulations... By the way, you say the game feels off, what’s wrong with it?"

"Didn’t you say that the first step after creating a character is choosing a Life Soul? But what I encountered was choosing a Talent Specialization?"

"Talent Specialization? Park Director, you’re not joking, right? Isn’t there supposed to be a containment wall at the start, with First Generation Souls as selectable initial Life Souls."

"There’s no containment wall, only a Talent Specialization selection page."

After hearing the director’s explanation, Tie Chui was also dumbfounded.

If the initial interface were different, it could be explained by a game update, as many games change the login screen with each update.

However, different initial skills indicate a definite problem.

"Park Director, let me ask you a question."

"Shoot."

"Did you fall for a rumor where someone claimed to have an official game purchase channel, and then you approached them to buy it?"

"Cut it out, I grabbed the game pass from Dark Land’s official website, with electronic invoices as proof. How could I seek other channels to buy... I’m not Zui Nai, easily tricked online."

"Doesn’t make sense, then why is the game’s setting different? Could the cracked version have modified the game content?"

With doubt, Tie Chui inquired about the game details.

The director immediately recounted his gaming experience in detail, emphasizing the game’s realism issue.

Upon learning the specifics, Tie Chui was completely dumbfounded.

What the director described didn’t sound like Dark Land; only the Evil Spirit and Black Tide settings were similar, while other content was entirely different.

The realism couldn’t compare to the cracked version of Dark Land he played.

It felt as if they were two completely different games.

"Ah~ I have a bold idea now, Park Director."

"Speak."

"Could it be possible that the official Dark Land you’re playing and the cracked version I’m playing are fundamentally two different games? The one I’m playing is the real official version, released exclusively through a link, while yours is the simplified test version of the official one. Although you paid for it, it’s only a semi-finished product, perhaps even a defective version compared to what I’m playing."

Tie Chui’s response left Tong Xin’s mind in shock for a long time, his hand holding the phone trembling nonstop:

"Tie Chui, don’t mess with me, people’s lives are at stake."

"Why would I mess with you? The only ones with the technology to develop high-pseudo-realistic virtual games are the Moon Eclipse Clan. It’s likely that the cracked version also came from within the Moon Eclipse Clan. So, both games are official, but yours is the simplified official version, and mine is the complete official version. Hence, the physical representation and game settings differ."

"Damn, don’t mess with me. I managed to get the pass with much effort, and you’re telling me that I paid for the simplified version? I don’t believe it!"

Listening to Tie Chui’s explanation, the director’s mindset collapsed completely, and he couldn’t stop his eyes from reddening.